OPINION:
Mike Bloomberg is on a mission to take away everyone’s guns. New York City’s billionaire mayor has bankrolled a coalition of municipal chiefs from coast to coast who tirelessly lobby for new laws restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners. The irony is that many in his coalition of pedophiles, embezzlers, wife beaters, cheaters and violent thugs are no longer eligible to legally own a gun.
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) on Monday detailed the crimes that have been committed by members of Mr. Bloomberg’s gang, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG). In its research, SAF found a significantly higher rate of felonious activity among the mayors who teamed up with hizzoner than among the 8 million citizens who are licensed to carry concealed firearms.
“If Mayor Bloomberg wants to align himself with this criminal element of mayors to push for gun control, we think the public should know about it,” SAF Founder Alan M. Gottlieb told The Washington Times in an interview.
The gun-rights advocate — who financially supported bringing the landmark Heller and McDonald gun-rights cases to the Supreme Court — said the investigation was prompted by Mr. Bloomberg’s throwing big money into political races. “Mayor Bloomberg set up this PAC with millions of dollars to go after pro-gun rights people running for office,” said Mr. Gottlieb. “We’re not going to let him attack our rights scot-free. We’re going to attack back.”
Mr. Gottlieb’s group launched an advertising campaign in newspapers, magazines and websites that lists 18 of the most dangerous anti-gun mayors who have been part of Mr. Bloomberg’s alliance. Among them are Gary Becker of Racine, Wisc., who was sentenced to three years in jail for felony child enticement and attempted sexual assault of a child. Detroit’s former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, assaulted a police officer and perjured himself. Sheila Dixon, who hosted Mr. Bloomberg and his MAIG conference in her city of Baltimore, Md., was convicted while in office of perjury and embezzling funds.
Larry Langford of Birmingham, Ala., got 15 years in the big house for a staggering 60 counts of bribery, fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. The hypocrisy award goes to the late Frank Melton from Jackson, Miss., who violated his own city’s gun possession ordinances. SAF plans to publicize any time another mayor in the group goes bad. D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray, a member of MAIG who denies residents all rights to bear arms, has also been under federal investigation for campaign finance fraud.
Many of these city leaders couldn’t get past the front counter at a gun store, as every buyer undergoes an FBI instant background check. The system is designed to deny transactions for anyone who has been under indictment or convicted of a crime punishable by a year or more in prison or for assaulting a spouse or child.
As Mr. Gottlieb noted, “Maybe Mayor Bloomberg should be looking for background checks of who he signs up to be in his mayor’s coalition rather than worrying about background checks of gun owners.” Neither a spokesman for MAIG nor Mr. Bloomberg’s office responded to request for comment.
The anti-gun types need to clean house before trying further to restrict law-abiding citizens’ right to defend themselves.
Emily Miller is a senior editor for the Opinion pages at The Washington Times.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.